When No One Understands Your Vision: Conquering The Voices of Doubt

What do you do when no one understands your vision? How do you conquer the voices of doubt and negativity? It’s a place I’m sure most of you are familiar with—when you have a vision when you have a goal, and no one seems to understand or support your idea. Perhaps you’re thinking of starting a new business or taking your organizational team to another level or in a different direction. It could be any shift or change that you're making in your life.

Sometimes the feeling that no one supports you or your vision can cause you to become paralyzed. It could stop you dead in your tracks and impede your progress, it could cause you to postpone your dreams.

Many of us could have experienced this in the early stages of our lives. As children, we dreamt big and let our imaginations run wild. But we also thought about all of the things we wanted to become and achieve when we grew up. There were most likely people who supported you and encouraged you to follow your dreams, but there may have also been people who put an end to your ambitions before they even truly began. So, when our visions aren’t supported as adults, we are sometimes reminded of that time as a child when our dreams were crushed, and it becomes that much harder to fight for your vision.

However, if you’ve had that negative experience as a child and found a way to push through the noise, you must find a way to draw on that strength you had in order to propel yourself forward today. As you continue to grow and develop, your visions and your goals for yourself are likely to change as well. People will take notice of this and they might even offer their (unsolicited) opinions or advice about what you should or shouldn't do. But sometimes, the biggest obstacle is really us—our own self-doubt, our own questioning and second-guessing, the discouraging things we tell ourselves.

However, there are ways to overcome this doubt so you can continue chasing your dreams. The first tactic is to encourage yourself with positive thoughts. It’s important to love yourself as much as you love your friends and your families. One of the ways you can do that is to write yourself a letter describing all the positive things about yourself. Write yourself a letter about all the reasons why you want to do this now. Write yourself a letter about all the reasons why you can do it.

The second tip is to trust your gut. Trust what your inner voice is telling you, not the negative self-talk, but the genuine truth. Think about what your gut is telling you about your new vision, new career, new business venture—and rely on that. Rely on the initial motive that spurred your vision. Trust your gut and trust your instincts. One way to accomplish this is to spend some time each day in quiet reflection to allow those thoughts to surface.

The third tip is to develop or surround yourself with a supportive tribe. This includes ensuring that all the people in your life who are really supportive of your vision, your business, and your goals are front and center. This way, you can drown out all the negative self-talk and all of the naysayers. These people in your life will keep you going, even during times where you may doubt yourself. Your tribe can consist of anyone—your family, your friends, co-workers, colleagues—as long as they are positive and supportive. And when you are ready to move forward with your vision, when you are ready to share your vision with the world, those people will cheer you on and push you forward.

Trust that your vision will come true at the right time for you. Your vision should be about what you want to do to inspire others not about what others expect of you. 

A job is how you make money. A career is how you make your mark. A calling is how you acknowledge a higher vision, whatever it may be.-Deepak Chopra.

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